This invention relates to a hazard/safety warning device for indicating the presence of a hazard and/or the location of a person or object, particularly, though not exclusively, in abnormal situations.
Hazard/safety warning devices are used in a multitude of applications to indicate the location of a hazard such as a toxic or an inflammable spillage on a roadway; to warn drivers of a disabled vehicle on a roadway; to warn of a fires hazard; to illuminate a desired path such as an airport runway (particularly in remote areas); the indication of a safe landing zone for medical and/or emergency evacuation helicopters; to indicate the location of people or objects in situations of reduced visibility, and other similar uses.
A commonly used hazard/safety warning device is a pyrotechnic flare. These flares glow very brightly but have numerous disadvantages. Some of these disadvantages include their very short operational life following ignition, and their comparatively short shelf life. They are also hazardous to use in certain situations such as in or near combustible materials, or in or near woods or parklands, where the risk of accidental fires is always present. They can also harm a user or other persons due to their high temperatures, sparks, and toxic and/or noxious fumes given off when burning. Other disadvantages of such devices include their susceptibility to damp, their comparative ineffectiveness in very wet conditions, their need to be held or supported by a user in order to be effective, the time and personnel required to ignite them and place them in position, and the fact that once ignited they can be used only once. They can also be difficult to extinguish if it becomes desirable to do so.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,562,994 discloses a form of lamp similar to the many varied and well-known bed lamps. It has a clamp adapted to be secured to a device such as a bedhead, as well as a short arm with pivotal connections at each end. It is not portable nor capable of resting on a surface. Furthermore, the lamp portion is not separable from the base and capable of independent operation.
Another commonly used hazard/warning device is known in U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,802. This shows a flashing orange light located within a metallic or plastic housing such as has been used by local councils and road repairers for many years. These are relatively bulky, heavy, and expensive. Because of their weight and bulk, these devices are not suitable to be carried by a user as a safety location device. They are also intended to be stood on a flat base and are, therefore, quite easily knocked over, which reduces their effectiveness (particularly on uneven terrain). They are also designed to have new or recharged batteries replaced upon discharge of the current batteries. As a consequence, there is an element of ongoing maintenance in their use, along with an element of unreliability due to connection defects between the battery terminals and the conductors supplying the lamp device.
Non-illuminating devices are also often used as hazard/safety warning devices. Such devices include reflective strips, reflective triangles and the like. These devices are adapted to reflect incident light such as that emitted from the headlight of a vehicle. The usefulness of such devices at night in the absence of any illuminating light is minimal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,204 shows a holder for a lamp and has a base, an elongate body, and claims to enable the assembly to be attached to an arm of an elective lamp supplied from a normal power supply. The arrangement is more to hold a conventional lamp above a table rather than a hazard/safety warning device. The base is not adapted for pivotal movement, nor is the lamp capable of separate, independent operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,741 shows a holder for torches or flashlights and which has an elongate body, and an illumination means located at one end of the elongate body. It is intended for holding a flashlight down a manhole and could not be used for the purposes of the present invention.
The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,389 is directed to a portable light for night fishing from a boat or from the shore. It is not useable as a hazard/safety warning device and has no self-righting feature. The light cannot be operated independently of the base.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,447 relates to a stick for supporting an outdoor lighting fixtures. It uses as an exposed bulb and electrical wires which are adapted to pass through the stick but still allow for connection to the light bulb. It is not directed towards the same object of the present invention. It has no self-righting feature, and the light cannot be operated independently of the stick.
A panel illuminating module is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,201 and which has an upper part with several light emitting diodes and a lower part which fits into a standard panel circuit. The two are joined by a bayonet fitting. It is not a hazard/safety warning light, and the light cannot be used separately from the base. There is no self-righting feature.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,781 to Saubolle discloses a hazard warning device incorporating a stemlike body having a strut assembly similar to an umbrella frame which is able to be deployed between a folded condition and a deployed condition in which the struts form a tripod support for the device. Mounted on top of the stem-like body is a lens containing a light emitting diode. This device overcomes many of the above problems in relation to pyrotechnic flares in that it does not operate by means of combustion. Both the shelf life and the operational life of such a device are also greater than those of pyrotechnic flares. However, this device does have several limitations. The device is supported by the tripod which needs to be deployed by moving the struts from the folded condition to the deployed condition and carefully placed on the ground so that it stands upright. This can be time-consuming, especially where a large number of the devices need to be laid out. There is nothing enabling the device to re-orientate itself in the upright position if it tips over whilst is being placed in position. In conditions of high wind or running water, there is nothing to enable the device to be secured in position, nor is the device sealed which limits its useability in abnormal situations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,752 has a G-clamp at one end of an elongate, flexible body, there being a torch-receiving platform at the other end of the body. There is no rigidity in the body nor is the device capable of anything other than attachment to a bench or the like. The torch/flashlight is not integral with the body.
A distress signal lamp is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,735. The lamp has a rather flat base with suction cups thereon to enable the lamp to be releasably attached to a surface of a vehicle from within the vehicle, and a clamp to enable attachment to the top of a vehicle window. Its casing is releasably attached to the base, with the casing having upper and lower sections. To the upper section is attached a lamp bead by means of a toggle joint. The nature of the base is vastly different to that of the present invention, and the product is directed to a different object.
Another safety device may be found in GP Patent 2,238,107 which relates to a safety light for attachment to a rail of a waste skip. It is a hazard/safety warning device but it does not have an elongate body. It has an engagement means on an end of the body distant from the illumination means and being adapted to releasingly engage a supportive means for supporting the device in a desired position.
GP Patent 1,603,824 relates to a self-righting hazard warning device used on roadways, as obstruction markers, or the like. It has a body. An illumination device is located at the other end of the body. The illumination means is a light source located within a fresnal lens but it is not intended the parts can be separated and used independently.
Australian Patent 20561/92 relates to a light which is pivotally mounted on a spike which is able to be placed into the ground. It does not approach the objects of the present invention.
Australian Patent 278448 is somewhat similar to the GB Patent 1603824 described above. It has a body and an illumination means at one end of the body. However, the supporting means is the body and, thus, that this product does not approach the objects of the present invention.
Australian Patent 20807/24 is for one of the first of the electric miner""s lamps. It has a body which is not elongate. It has an illumination means at one end of the body, and engagement means on the body, but not necessary distant from the illumination means, and which are adapted to releasably engage the supporting means (strap) for supporting the device in a desired orientation.
European Patent 528,588 is directed to a lamp having a stake which is able to be driven into the ground and having a lamp assembly at the top. The invention defined is in relation to the way in which the electrical contact with the lamp assembly is made.
French Patent 2,514,468 shows a lamp, and a body. There is an illumination means within the body. The body is adapted to received in a socket in its lower surface an engagement means which is adapted to releasingly engage the ground by means of a spike so as to support the body in a desired position.
German Patents 4,211,953 and 4,211,948 shows a lamp having a flat base, with a conical body, battery, an elongated shaft, and a connector at the upper end of that shaft. Above the conical body is the illumination means, which is adapted to receive over it a mating lens assembly.
German Patent 1,489,362 is a bed lamp with a spring clip, an elongate shaft, an illumination means at one end of the elongate shaft, an engagement means on the shaft (but which appears to be moveable along the shaft), and adapted to releasing the engaged supporting means for supporting the device in its desired orientation.
German Patent 839916 relates to a stick for insertion in the ground of which contains a vertical array for a warning light. Again, the light cannot be used separate to the base, and it does not have any fittings which enable to achieve or even be directed towards the objects of the present invention.
German Patent 370461 is directed to a lamp with a spring base. The base is able to be attached to a horizontal or vertical surface. The main lamp is able to be pivotally moved over a limited range of movement. It is a conventional form of light fitting with a hemispherical reflector of the well-known bed lamp style. Again, it is not directed towards the objects of the present invention, cannot meet the objects of the present invention, and cannot be operated by a remote power source.
In the light of the abovementioned limitations in the devices known in the prior art, the present invention is directed towards providing a hazard/safety warning device which is suitable for use in a wide range of hazard/safety situations. The invention is also directed towards providing a hazard/warning device which is easy to use.
According to the present invention there is provide a hazard/safety warning device including:
a lamp member having an elongate body;
illumination means located at one end of the elongate body; and
engagement means on the body, distant from the illumination means, adapted to securely yet releasingly engage centrally located recess in a supporting means for supporting the device in a desired orientation;
the supporting means including substantially hemispherical base which can be located on a surface to be substantially self-righting so as to maintain the warning device upright;
the lamp member being capable of operation independently of the supporting means.
The recess preferably snuggly receives an end of the elongated body of the warning device. Preferably, the snug fit will be sufficiently firm to inhibit the warning device from disengaging from the base body except with substantial force by a user. Advantageously, a bayonet fitting is used. In this case the walls of the substantially vertical recess are cylindrical and may include at least one L-shaped keyway. The body may have at least one radially extending lug adapted to co-operate with the keyway.
Alternatively, the supporting means may be a spiked member having a pointed end adapted for insertion into the ground and a distant end which includes the corresponding engagement means for engaging with the elongated body of the warning device. The corresponding engagement means may be a collar member dimensioned to snuggly receive an end of the elongated body.
The supporting means may alternatively be a strap for securing the warning device to a body or a person. In this case, the engagement means on the warning device may be two arms on opposed sides of the elongated body which extend substantially parallel with the axis of the elongated body. Preferably, these arms may be biased to press against the respective sides of the elongated body in order to grip the strap securely.
In a further preferred aspect of this invention, the illumination means includes a globe or at least one light emitting diode located within a fresnel lens. The lens may be substantially cylindrical. The side of the lens have circular grooves and ridges which extend about the lens. In a preferred aspect, the top of the lens may have coaxial circular grooves and ridges located thereon.
The lens may be dyed orange, red, blue, green or any other colour to make it appropriate for its designated purpose. The light source may incorporate a standard krypton filled filament lamp, or one or more light emitting diodes.
The illumination means may be operable by any suitable mechanism such as a switch. In one aspect of the invention, the illumination means is activated by rotating the fresnel lens about its axis bringing the electrical contacts, necessary to complete an electrical circuit with batteries held within the elongated body, into contact. In an alternative switching system, the contacts may be enclosed in an inert atmosphere and operated by a permanent magnet device such as, for example, a reed switch operated by the magnet.
In this aspect of the invention, the warning device may further include a tab located, for instance, on the side of the body, which is adapted to snap off when the fresnel lens is rotated for the first time, thereby indicating to a user whether the device is new or has been used or otherwise tampered with. The body, where it attaches to the lens, may include a sealing device such as, for example, an O-ring, so that there is a seal between the body and the lens, but the lens is free to move relative to the body about the longitudinal axis but can still remain safe to use. There may also be provided a locating ridge or further seal radially inwardly extending from the lens and adapted to co-operate with a recess in the body so as to axially locate the lens relative to the body.
The illumination means is preferably mounted on a circuit board, which includes the necessary switch contacts and/or battery contacts, as well as the circuitry required to control the flash rate of the illumination means. The flash rate of the illumination means is preferably in the range 0.8-2.2 Hz, more preferably 1.0-2.0 Hz, advantageously 1.2 Hz. The flash duration may be any suitable time such as, for example, 0.2 seconds.
The supporting means may have an outer member which has a substantially hemispherical outer wall, and an upper wall with a plurality of radially-directed, cut-outs therein to receive therethrough corresponding downwardly projecting fins from an upper surface of an inner member. Preferably, the inner member has a peripheral skirt sized and located to co-operate with the outer wall of the outer member.